Ore-sama the Cage Fighter
by chilled monkey
Summary: Hareluya II Boy fanfic. Hibino is kidnapped and forced into an underground fighting ring. Can Ichijou and Yamana rescue him?


**Disclaimer: **I do not own the manga/anime series Hareluya II Boy or any of its characters. This story is a work of fanfiction. No profit is being made from it.

**Author's Note: **This story takes place after the series end. Daigo Oedo is named after a character from the manga/anime series "Black Jack."

* * *

Hibino Hareluya idly rested his baseball bat against his shoulder and grinned down at the beaten punks moaning in pain that lay before him. He had been on his way to school when they had appeared before him wanting revenge for some members of their gang that he had fought and defeated a few days ago. They had then attacked him and of course had ended up the same way their fellows had. In short, nothing out of the ordinary.

"You're at least a million years too early to stand a chance at beating Ore-sama" he said, his grin broadening as he repeated his oft-used line. He had said it a lot over the previous year but he never got tired of it.

_Besides, I'm just speaking the truth_ he thought to himself smugly.

With that Hibino continued on his way to school. As he did so, he was totally unaware that he was being secretly watched.

A short distance away was an expensive black sports car. The car's occupant smiled slyly. He had seen the entire fight and had liked what he'd seen very much.

"So Hibino Hareluya, you're just as good as your reputation indicated" he mused. "You'll be a perfect addition to my stable."

* * *

Hibino made it to school and the rest of the day passed without incident. That afternoon when classes were over he met up as usual with Makoto Ichijou and Yamana Michiru.

As he approached them he saw that Yamana was talking on her phone. From the delighted smile on her face he knew who she was talking to even before he heard her say, "Bye Okamoto."

Hibino grinned. Secretly he was glad that Yamana and Okamoto Kiyoushiro had kept in touch since he had moved to France. While he knew that few long-distance relationships lasted, Hibino was certain that theirs would be an exception.

Not that he would ever say it aloud of course.

Yamana hung up and put her phone away. She looked over and saw him. "Hello Hibino" she said brightly.

He nodded. "Hello Michiru, Sullen Lecher."

Ichijou gritted his teeth momentarily at the nickname Hibino always called him. He'd gotten used to it long ago but it still annoyed him.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Pretty interesting" he replied. "First I was jumped by some punks on my way in"

Yamana gave him a surprised look but said nothing. After all it was clear that he was fine.

_Besides it would take a lot more than a few punks to cause Hibino any trouble_ she thought with amusement.

Hibino went on, "And later Haruka-sensei asked me to help re-socket some guy's dislocated leg."

Ichijou and Yamana shared a quick knowing smile. They both knew that Hibino secretly liked the school nurse Yamanoue Haruka.

"Oi Hibino" said Ichijou as he remembered what he had intended to say next time he saw Hibino. "Remember that Fire Gunz are playing tonight at Obsidian at 7.00."

"What! Are you implying that Ore-sama would have forgotten?" Hibino exclaimed as he glared at him. "When have I ever missed a single performance?"

"When have you ever been on time?" Ichijou shot back. "I'm tired of everyone having to wait for you before we can begin. It's disrespectful to the rest of the band and to the fans."

Both of them were looking daggers at each other and looked ready to start throwing punches any second. Yamana hurriedly stepped between them and put her hands on their shoulders.

"Calm down both of you. The important thing is to put on a great concert that people will love and we know Hibino will do that" she said reassuringly.

Hibino's angry expression turned into a grin. "Of course" he said. "The fans will as always be treated to Ore-sama's magnificent voice."

Ichijou also relaxed. It was true that the fans never seemed to mind Hibino's tardiness as long as they got to hear the band play.

Hibino's grin turned sly. "Tell you what Sullen Lecher. Treat me to okonomiyaki and I will be on time."

Ichijou sighed. "Okay."

Yamana laughed softly as they headed off to the okonomiyaki restaurant.

* * *

That evening the street was dark and empty as Hibino made his way to Obsidian, the nightclub where the band was booked to play. He idly glanced at his watch. Good, there was plenty of time to get there.

_After all I did say I would be on time. Never let it be said that the great Ore-sama doesn't keep his promises._

"Hibino Hareluya" said a voice from behind him.

He turned around calmly to see a man standing a short distance away. He had short black hair and wore an expensive-looking grey suit with a black tie that had a white lion emblazoned on it.

"A pleasure to meet you. I've been a fan of yours for quite some time" said the suited man.

Hibino grinned. "Splendid. I'm just on my way to a concert now."

"Oh it's not your band that interests me. It's the other thing you're famous in this city for."

Hibino heard footsteps behind him and spun around to see five men advancing on him. All of them wore black balaclavas that hid their faces, leaving only their eyes visible. From their stances it was clear that they were ready to fight.

Hibino's grin didn't waver as he stood casually waiting for them to attack. _Don't worry Sullen Lecher; this won't even slow me down._

As one the balaclava-wearers pulled out black boxy objects and pointed them at him. In the split-second it took him to realise what the objects were they all fired.

Five projectiles, each one trailing a pair of thin wires, shot out and hit him directly in the chest. Blue-white electrical sparks arced over his body. He roared in fury and struggled, fighting the effects of the current, but after a moment his muscles began to spasm and he dropped to the ground. Seconds later the spasms stopped and he lay still.

"He's out sir" said one of the balaclava men.

The man in the suit grinned. _Amazing_ he thought. _That amount of current was enough to bring down a buffalo and yet he still managed to resist it for a moment. I'll make more money off of him than ever before!_

"Bring the car around and let's get him out of here" he said.

* * *

Hibino groaned as he began to stir. _What happened? I was on my way to the concert when that guy in the suit appeared and then…_

He opened his eyes and sat bolt upright as he remembered what had happened. _Grrr, where are those ********! They're going to pay for shocking the invincible Ore-sama!_

It was only then that he noticed his surroundings. He was in a small room with bare grey walls that was lit by four glowing white squares set into the ceiling. In a corner was a chemical toilet. The only furniture was the metal bench he was laying on and there was only a single door made of solid steel with a small shuttered window.

Hibino also realised that he was shirtless, thus unable to access his baseball bat or any other weapons, and that a metal cuff had been fastened around his left wrist. As he examined the cuff the door opened to reveal the suited man. In his hand was a small device that resembled a TV remote control.

"Hello Hareluya-san" he said with false politeness.

Hibino leapt to his feet and charged the man but before he could get to him, the man pressed a button on the device he held. Hibino roared in pain and collapsed as he was electrocuted again.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Daigo Oedo. I run a business which takes delinquents like you and helps channel their desire to fight into something more productive. More specifically I give them the means to fight without having to worry about any consequences while providing a spectacle that my customers can enjoy. As I said before I've been a fan of yours for some time now. You reputation as an invincible fighter is well-known. Many of my customers have expressed an interest in seeing you in action and who am I to disappoint them? They will be very pleased to see my new champion."

Hibino glared up at him. "You *******! You think you can turn the invincible Ore-sama into a pit bull for some seedy fight club?"

"Well you do have a choice Hareluya-san" Oedo replied mockingly. "You can either fight, or you can do nothing and allow yourself to be beaten. And speaking of which it is now time for your debut match." He stepped aside and five guards entered the cell.

"By all means struggle if you wish. Although if you do I will have to use this again" said Oedo as he held up the remote control for the shock cuff.

Hibino snarled but forced himself to go along as the guards dragged him out into a corridor with the same grey walls as his cell. He was taken through the corridors to a large hall filled with people that began murmuring excitedly as he entered. In the middle of the hall was a wire cage. Inside the cage was a tall, heavily built young man with a blonde buzz cut. He too was shirtless and had a metal cuff on his wrist. His face wore a look of utter fury.

The cage door was opened and Hibino went in. The second the door locked behind him, Buzz Cut rushed to attack while bellowing out a war cry. Hibino easily dodged his wild punches and landed a solid blow to his gut that staggered him. He recovered quickly and charged him again.

Buzz Cut was strong but he was no match for Hibino and within only a few moments he was knocked out with a blow to the side of his head. People in the crowd started cheering while those who had bet on Buzz Cut to win grumpily paid up.

The cage door was unlocked and the guards moved to escort Hibino out. He followed without protest and then, in a burst of speed, he elbowed one guard in the gut, punched another in the face and made a break for the nearest door. He made it about halfway when…

"ARRRGH!" Hibino screamed as yet again electricity flowed through him and he fell to the floor. He blacked out from the pain and when he regained consciousness he was back on the bench in his cell. The shutter on the door opened and Oedo spoke through it.

"That was very impressive Hareluya-san. I will have to find some better opponents so that your matches won't be too one-sided. Anyway, get some rest now. You'll be fighting again tomorrow night."

Before Hibino could respond the shutter closed. He lay back on the bench and gritted his teeth as he thought about what he would do to Oedo when he got out.

* * *

"Good morning Ichijou" said Yamana as she met him outside the school entrance.

"Good morning Yamana" he replied. He smiled at her, but it was clear from the forced calm tone of his voice that he was annoyed at something.

She asked "is something wrong?"

He sighed. "Hibino didn't come to the concert last night. We had to perform without him and while the fans were all supportive it still felt pointless without his vocals."

"That's odd. I know he's always late but it's not like him to not show up at all" said Yamana.

"All I know is that he had better have a good reason for why he didn't come" Ichijou said darkly.

She nodded in agreement.

They went to class fully expecting Hibino to strut in at some point later on. Yet as the day went on he still didn't appear.

By now Yamana was starting to get a bad feeling. She told herself it was nothing but the feeling persisted. Finally she decided to go and ask the school nurse if she had seen Hibino that day.

Haruka was working at her desk when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in" she called.

The door opened and she smiled as she saw who it was. "Hello Yamana-chan. How can I help you?"

She smiled back. "Hello Yamanoue-sensei. I'm sorry to bother you but I was wondering if you'd seen Hibino."

"It's no bother at all" she replied. "I'm afraid I haven't seen Hibino-kun since yesterday. Is it about something important?"

"Oh no, it's nothing important" Yamana said quickly. "I'd just like to ask what he thinks about a new band I heard recently." She disliked lying to the kindly nurse but she didn't want to worry her needlessly.

Haruka nodded. "I understand. If I see him I'll let him know you want to talk."

"Thank you Yamanoue-sensei."

"You're very welcome."

* * *

When school finished Ichijou and Yamana met up again at the entrance.

"I haven't seen Hibino all day" he said.

"I haven't either. I went to see Yamanoue-sensei and she told me she hasn't seen him since yesterday."

Ichijou tried and failed to keep a frown off of his face. Now he was starting to worry. Keeping his voice cool he said, "let's go and talk to his father. Maybe he'll know something."

"Good idea."

Ichijou looked a little uncomfortable. "Could you please give me a lift? My bike's in the shop."

"No problem" she replied.

* * *

Yamana brought her Vespa to a halt outside the church where Hibino and his father lived. "Here we are" she said as she and Ichijou got off.

"That was quick. You got us here in no time" he commented.

"Thanks. Now let's go see what's up with Hibino."

"Okay."

As they started up the steps the doors opened and Hibino's father appeared. His bearded face had a hopeful look that immediately changed to one of concern.

"Ah Yamana-san, Ichijou-san, do you have any idea where Hibino is?" he asked.

They looked at each other in surprise. "We were hoping you could tell us" said Ichijou.

"We haven't seen him all day" Yamana added.

Hibino's father looked very worried now. "Last night he did not come home after he left for the concert."

Ichijou felt his body tense up at that. "Hibino never showed up to the concert last night" he said slowly.

For a very long moment the three of them stood as if frozen as they realised that something was very wrong.

Finally Hibino's father shook his head to clear it. "Ah, please forgive my rudeness" he said. "Come inside and let us discuss this further."

"Yes, we need to compare notes" Ichijou agreed.

* * *

It did not take them long to establish the last time each of them had seen Hibino. His father assured them that there had been nothing out of the ordinary when he had left.

After that Ichijou and Yamana left to check out Hibino's favoured hang-out areas. Sure enough they found no trace of him.

"This doesn't make any sense" said Ichijou as they left another okonomiyaki restaurant. "How could anyone possibly take that big moron anywhere he didn't want to go?"

Yamana agreed. Hibino had always been invincible, able to take whatever was thrown at him and emerge victorious. Yet now it was looking more and more like he was in trouble.

"We should ask everyone we know to help us look for him" she said.

"Yes. I'll make some calls to a few friends of mine and tomorrow we can talk to everyone at school."

* * *

Ichijou wasted no time in calling everyone he thought could help. First he called his friends Kazama Yuusaku and Sukeban Shouko. Both of them agreed to help look for Hibino and assured him they would let him know if they found out anything.

Next he called the other members of Fire Gunz, Amamiya and Shiina. They also agreed to help.

Finally, and not without reluctance, he called Ibu Reiko. After a lot of teasing she finally agreed to aid in the search and promised that the rest of her gang would do so too. To Ichijou's dismay however she only did so after he agreed to go on a date with her.

At school the following day he and Yamana told their other friends and classmates about Hibino's disappearance and asked them to call if they saw or heard anything to indicate what had happened to him. As much as they didn't want to worry her, they also told Haruka. Her concern was apparent but so too was the resolve in her voice when she said that she would do whatever was needed to find Hibino.

The response was unanimously positive. Everyone was happy to help…

That was until they got to Momiyama Shouzou.

"No" he said flatly as he crossed his arms.

"Come on Momii-Danna, this is important" said Ichijou.

"No. I don't care what happens to Hibino Hareluya, I hate him! I will not help look for him and that's final."

Yamana stepped forwards. "Please banchou. Hibino could be in real danger."

Momiyama's annoyed frown instantly became a silly grin. "Of course Yamana-san, I will have my underlings scour the city until they find him. I'll go and tell them to start right now."

With that he turned and left with a noticeable spring in his step.

_So predictable_ Ichijou thought as they watched him go. While Momiyama had toned down his attempts at wooing Yamana after a few 'subtle' hints from Hibino and Ichijou, he still jumped at any chance to impress her.

"This is good Ichijou" said Yamana. "With so many people helping us look we're sure to find Hibino."

"I'm sure we will" he agreed.

_Let's just hope that if we do find him we can handle whoever's behind this _he thought grimly to himself.

* * *

For the next few days everyone looked for Hibino but despite their best efforts their search turned up nothing.

Then one day, as they were leaving school, Ichijou and Yamana were approached by an excited-looking Momiyama.

"Guess what I've found" he said with a grin.

"You've found Hibino" replied Ichijou.

"Well no, but I do know what happened to him."

"And what's that?"

"Well my lackeys have been snooping all over the city, checking out every possible lead. I am after all, a very well-connected and respected man in this city" he said with a wink at Yamana which she ignored.

"Anyway they discovered that over the last few months a lot of guys, most of them strong fighters, have been disappearing from all over the city. The word is that they're being kidnapped and forced to fight each other in some kind of illegal underground cage-fighting ring while spectators bet on the outcome."

_That's worse than the __scheme Baraki and Tarou had going_ Ichijou thought in alarm. He glanced at Yamana and from her expression it was clear that the thought had occurred to her too.

Momiyama went on, "that's not all. One of my boys found out that one of the fighters recently added to the roster calls himself the Invincible Ore-sama and has won every match he's been in so far."

_Hibino!_ _It has to be him!_ Ichijou thought, his eyes bulging.

"Where can we find this place?"

"I don't know. The matches are held at several different locations. The only one I know of who knows for certain where tonight's match takes place is a guy called Daigo Oedo. He has short black hair and always wears a smart grey suit and a black tie that has a white lion on it. He usually hangs out at a club called Meridian."

Yamana smiled. "Thank you very much banchou. You've been a great help."

_She smiled at me!_ Momiyama thought gleefully. "No need to thank me Yamana-san. For you I'll…"

His words trailed off as he realised that Yamana and Ichijou were already hurrying away without looking back. The goofy grin on his face froze and then collapsed as his entire body seemed to sag.

_Another failure_ he thought dejectedly.

* * *

Meridian was an impressive place, considerably more upscale than many of the other clubs Ichijou had been to. There was a crowded dance floor, two bars and several separate lounge areas. He made a mental note to see about booking Fire Gunz to play there once this matter was sorted.

"Let's look around, see if we can find this Daigo Oedo guy" he whispered to Yamana.

"What do we do if he's not here tonight?" she asked.

He shrugged. "We'll have to come back some other night I suppose. Right now he's the only lead we have."

Fortunately they found a man fitting the description Momiyama had provided after just a few moments of searching. He was sitting in a corner chatting idly with some other well-dressed guys.

Ichijou and Yamana took seats at a nearby table. "When he leaves we'll follow him" Ichijou said, keeping his voice low.

"Okay" she replied.

They did not need to wait long. After about fifteen minutes, Oedo looked at his watch. He grinned and said something to the other guys which made them all grin back. They all stood up and headed for the door.

Ichijou and Yamana nodded to each other and followed them outside. They watched discreetly as the men got into a black sports car. As Oedo started to drive away they got onto Yamana's Vespa and put on their helmets.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure they don't realise we're following them" she said as she started the engine.

"I know" he replied.

She drove carefully; keeping her distance and staying just close enough to keep the car in sight while keeping the Vespa's headlight low. After a while they came to an unmarked, rundown building in one of the city's rougher neighbourhoods. Two surly-looking men stood guard in front of the entrance and numerous cars were parked all around.

Oedo brought his car to a stop and he and the others got out. They casually strolled up to the entrance and were let in without a word.

Ichijou and Yamana watched them from the cover of a parked car she had stopped behind when she had noticed Oedo's brake lights come on.

"That must be where Hibino is" she said. "How are we going to get inside?"

Ichijou examined the building carefully. "There's a fire escape around the side. We can use it to sneak in."

She nodded. "I'll drive us around the back of the building so the guards don't see us."

"Good thinking."

* * *

She drove them behind the building and parked the Vespa. They carefully went around to the fire escape and climbed the metal stairs until they came to a boarded-up window. Ichijou studied it for a moment and then kicked it with all his might. The wooden boards splinted and fell away. He went through the hole he'd made first and then reached back and took Yamana's hand to guide her in.

The room was empty of furniture and the walls and floor were bare. Clearly this area of the building wasn't in use.

"Well we're in" he mused. "But where do we start looking?"

"Ssshh, I hear something." she replied quietly. "Listen."

He did so and he heard it too. A dull roaring noise like a large crowd of people cheering and yelling. He crouched down and pressed his ear to the floor. It sounded like the noise was coming from below.

"Let's find a way downstairs" he said.

They soon found a staircase and went down to the next floor. Now they could clearly hear the sounds of a large crowd of people cheering.

"Be careful Ichijou" said Yamana as they warily proceeded down the corridor.

"I will" he replied.

The corridor led to a large hall. Both of them peered cautiously around the corner. Ichijou clenched his teeth in anger at what he saw while Yamana put a hand over her mouth to suppress a gasp of horror.

The hall was packed with people gathered around a wire cage. Inside the cage Hibino was battling three punks armed with wooden swords. He was unarmed, shirtless, battered and bloody. From the looks of him he had been fighting for some time while his opponents were new. All of the fighters had metal cuffs on their left wrists.

"Why those bas…" Ichijou snarled in fury. He was about to charge forwards but Yamana put her arm in front of him to stop him.

"Ichijou don't" she whispered. "There are too many of them for us to just rush in recklessly."

He composed himself. "You're right. Let's wait until Hibino's fight is over and see where they take him."

It did not take long for Hibino to defeat all three of the punks. When the last one fell the crowd went wild, some yelling in glee, others in frustration.

A group of eight men carrying stretchers approached the cage led by Oedo. Despite his obvious fatigue and the many bruises and wounds all over his body, Hibino glared at them defiantly and raised his fists.

Oedo smiled and pressed a button on a device he held. Hibino screamed and dropped to the ground as electricity flickered all over his body from the cuff on his wrist.

From their hiding place Yamana had to again hold Ichijou back to stop him charging in. He regained control of himself by thinking about how he would beat Oedo to a pulp later.

Oedo shut off the current and the men entered the cage. They hoisted Hibino and his opponents onto the stretchers and carried them off through a set of double doors at the back of the hall. As they did so two new fighters were led into the cage and the crowd began laying bets on who would win the upcoming bout.

"Let's wait until the next fight starts and then while everyone's watching it, we'll sneak through those doors and find Hibino" Ichijou whispered.

"Got it" she replied.

When the match began and the crowd was yelling in excitement as they watched the fighters grapple furiously, the two of them quietly crept into the hall, past the oblivious crowd and slipped through the double doors.

The doors opened into a corridor that led around another corner. The walls and floor were a dull green.

As they had done before they carefully looked around it. The corridor led to another door with two men standing guard.

Ichijou frowned as he noticed that both men had whistles around their necks. "This is a problem" he whispered. "I don't think I can take both of those guys out without one managing to blow his whistle."

"Hold on, I have an idea" said Yamana with a sly smile.

* * *

"Excuse me."

The guards were jolted from their daydreams by the sound of a sweet female voice. They looked over to see a beautiful girl smiling at them.

"Can you help me?" she asked demurely. "I'm a little lost."

They walked up to her. "This is a restricted area miss" said one of them. "I must ask you to…"

He was cut off as Ichijou jumped out from behind the corner and laid him out with a punch to the head. He was out cold as he hit the floor.

The second guard went for his whistle but Yamana was quicker. Her hand closed around it and she yanked hard. The cord snapped and she threw the whistle away. The shocked guard had no chance to react before Ichijou had knocked him out too.

"That was a good idea Yamana" said Ichijou as he crouched next to one of the unconscious guards.

"Thanks."

Ichijou searched the guard and found a key-card. "Now this should come in useful."

He unlocked the door with a swipe of the card and they went through. On the other side they found a row of steel doors along the wall. Each one had a small shuttered window and was sealed with an electronic lock.

"Stand back" said Ichijou. "Whoever's in there might throw something at us."

"Okay" she replied as she took a few steps back.

He selected one of the doors and opened the shutter. "Hello" he called into the cell.

"**** off!" yelled the occupant.

They recognised the voice immediately.

"Hibino! It's me, Ichijou."

Hibino sat up on the bench and looked through the shutter. "Sullen Lecher? Michiru? What are you doing here?"

"What do you think you big moron? We're here to rescue you" Ichijou snapped.

Before Hibino could reply they heard the heavy footfalls of booted feet. Ichijou turned to see a squad of guards approaching them. The guards froze in surprise momentarily but recovered immediately.

"Get them!" the leader yelled.

Ichijou stepped in front of Yamana protectively as they drew their nightsticks and rushed to attack.

The first one aimed an overhead swing at his head but he blocked it and landed a punch to the man's chest followed by another to his face. As he toppled over another guard aimed a blow at Ichijou's knee, but he spun away in time to evade it and responded by slamming his knee into the man's face, breaking his nose with a _crunch!_

Another guard made a grab at Yamana but she nimbly dodged it and kicked him in the gut. He fell back, forcing another one to sidestep out of the way. While he was distracted Yamana floored him with a punch to the jaw.

Ichijou ducked under a wild swing aimed at his head and drove his elbow into his foe's diaphragm, blasting the air out of his lungs. He then jumped up and slammed his elbow down hard on the back of his neck. The man dropped to the floor and lay still.

A quick glance around him told Ichijou that all of the guards were now unconscious. He unlocked the door to see that Hibino was standing on the other side.

"Hibino!" Yamana exclaimed as they got a close look at him. He was even more battered than they'd thought, with multiple purple bruises and bloody cuts. His hair was matted with dried blood.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Just fine" he said with his usual cocky grin. And then something astonishing happened. For a brief moment, Hibino's grin disappeared and he looked at them with genuine relief and gratitude.

"Thank you both" he said.

They were shocked. "Uh, you're welcome" said Ichijou awkwardly.

Hibino's familiar grin and air of supreme confidence instantly returned. "Ore-sama chose his servants well."

"What? What kind of thing to say is that?" Ichijou yelled while Yamana laughed, relieved that Hibino was acting like himself.

"We're glad to see you again too Hibino" she said.

He nodded appreciatively. "Let's go. It's time Oedo learned just how big a mistake he made."

* * *

In the main hall the doors suddenly burst open and the newly freed fighters came charging in. People screamed and fled for the exit as the security guards tried to stop them. Unfortunately for them they were outnumbered and the fighters were eager for revenge.

Oedo reached for the shock controller but before he could use it, Ichijou tackled him, having snuck into the hall ahead of the others.

Ichijou had expected it would be easy to overpower him. He was completely surprised when Oedo managed to wrestle the shock controller away, blocked his punches and then kicked him in the groin. Ichijou fell to the floor and curled into a foetal position.

"Sullen Lecher!" Hibino yelled as he knocked out a guard. Seeing his friend in trouble he rushed to his aid.

Oedo spun around, pointed the controller at him and pressed the button. Hibino gritted his teeth as the cuff around his wrist electrocuted him again, sending crackling sparks over his body, but he did not go down. Instead he continued to advance.

Oedo's knuckle was white as he held the button down. His eyes bulged in disbelief as Hibino closed in on him.

With an ululating battle cry, Hibino drew back his fist and smashed it right into Oedo's face. He flew backwards, slammed into the cage and slid down it to the floor.

Hibino snorted. "What a weakling." He glanced around to see that the spectators had all fled and Oedo's men were strewn around the hall.

Satisified that that the enemy had been dealt with, he turned around to see Yamana helping Ichijou up.

"You okay Sullen Lecher?" he asked cheerily.

"I'm fine" he managed to say although his voice and expression said otherwise. "I think I can still have children."

"Very good" said Hibino. He walked up and helped Yamana support him. "Now let's be on our way my loyal servants."

* * *

The following day Hibino was on the school roof. He lay back with his arms folded behind his head and gazed up at the clouds contentedly.

"Hibino-kun" said a familiar voice.

He turned his head and smiled as he saw Haruka standing over him.

"I heard what happened" she said. "Are you all right?"

He laughed. "Of course I'm all right. Nothing can bring down the invincible ore-sama."

"Of course not" she said, also smiling. "Even so, I'm glad that you're back."

"Hmm" he mused agreeably. He was silent for a moment and then he said, "Haruka-sensei."

"Yes Hibino-kun."

He hesitated a moment, feeling strangely awkward, but then said, "Fire Gunz have a concert this weekend. Would you like to come?"

"I would like that very much" she said happily.

* * *

**Seven years later**

"And do you, Yamanoue Haruka, take Hareluya Hibino as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do" she said as she beamed delightedly at the man standing next to her.

Hibino returned her smile, the expression far gentler than the smile he had worn during his school days although it still held traces of his old ego. He glanced at his father standing in front of them. The old priest gave his son a small wink.

Since graduating school and achieving fame with the band Hibino had mellowed out and matured a great deal. However his unshakeable confidence and will remained. His relationship with Haruka had also prospered, especially once they were no longer hindered by being student and teacher.

Okamoto-Yamana Michiru dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief as she cried happy tears. She felt the hand holding her own give it a gentle squeeze and she smiled warmly at her own husband, Okamoto Kiyoushiro. He smiled back lovingly.

Okamoto had achieved his dream of becoming a painter, with several of his works on display in art galleries around the world. He had insisted repeatedly that he could never have succeeded without her continued support and as soon as he was able he had returned to Japan. The two of them had confessed their feelings soon afterwards and before long they were married.

For her part Yamana had used her time well. She had started her own business as a silver jewellery designer and every line she had created had been immensely successful. Despite that, the proudest moment of her career had been when Hibino and Haruka had asked her to design their wedding rings and also when Haruka had cried with joy and thanked her profusely upon seeing the completed rings.

In another part of the hall, Kazama-Sukeban Shouko was also crying at the sight before her. She looked down at her own wedding ring and then turned to look at her husband, Kazama Yuusaku. He gently reached over and wiped away her tears. They smiled tenderly at each other. The two of them had gotten married soon after Okamoto and Yamana had.

Ichijou and Ibu Reiko were also present of course. While they had begun dating long ago they hadn't gotten around to marrying yet. Ibu said every chance she got that she was getting tired of waiting for Ichijou to make her an honest woman. He would always respond with a groan but his smiles were clear each time.

Everyone's attention returned to the bride and groom as Hibino's father announced "then by the power vested in me I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The hall erupted into cheering and applause as Hibino embraced Haruka and kissed her. After a moment of this she stepped back with an overjoyed grin. Once she had composed herself she turned to their assembled friends and relatives.

"All right, I'm going to throw the bouquet" she called.

Everyone waited eagerly to see who would catch it. Haruka turned her back and then threw the bouquet over her shoulder. It spun end over end through the air and then fell…

Everyone stared in surprise as they saw Ibu holding the bouquet in both hands. She blinked with a puzzled look for a moment and then turned to Ichijou with a teasing smile.

"So Ichijou-kun, is two weeks soon enough for you?" she asked.

Happy laughter filled the church hall.


End file.
